Celiac & Lyme

[mommyto3]

I hear a lot of mention about Lyme disease on this board and people who are tested for Celiac are often tested for Lyme too. Is there a connection? Just not sure why these two seem to be mentioned together all the time.

Thanks

[dilettantesteph]

I know that Lyme was suggested to me when I continued to have symptoms on the gluten free diet. Whenever I mentioned some food I reacted too which others did not, the Lyme suggestion came up again. Then I found out that some celiacs are more sensitive to low levels of gluten than others. That cleared it up for me. Lyme disease is carried by a tick which you have to come into contact with to get the disease. I don't think that there is a celiac connection.

[captaincrab55]

Long story short, a number of the symptons of Celiac and Lyme are shared... I was checked many times in a 10 year period trying to figure out the fatigue part....

[wschmucks]

YES-- There is a HUGE connection.

1 out of 100 people have Celiac, but 1 out of 10 people with Lyme also have Celiac. The way that the Lyme bacteria goes through your body confuses your immune system-- creating auto-immune disease, like Celiac. Lyme disease is not an easy thing to test for, some people go years without being able to get a positive blood test, when they are in fact infected. Also one of the first symptoms of Lyme is constipation, which leads a lot of people to the GI Dr.

After 2 years on a gluten-free diet, and SCD diet-- I tried everything and was still more fatigued and brain foggy than ever, I was finally diagnosed with Lyme disease, even though it wasn't popular in my state (which doesnt mean a thing) and I had NEVER even seen a tick, let alone been bit by one. I strongly recommend getting tested if you are not improving. If you do have Lyme the longer you wait the harder it is to ever recover.

Whitney

[TPT]

I wonder if Lyme is also the trigger for some people? And since symptoms are similar, they sort of run into each other.

[kitgordon]

That was my thought also; that Lyme might be a trigger. I was successfully treated for Lyme disease nearly 20 years ago, and as best I can remember my GI symptoms began shortly after that.

[MelindaLee]

I never heard this. When I was 7, I had a bug bite. They diagnosed it as an allergic rection to a spider bite. When I was 16 (don't ask why I didn't notice it before) I noted my skin in that area was very tight and hard. After much testing and seeing one of the top dermatologist in the nation, they determined it was a rare form of Lyme disease. It causes fat bundles to be stored under my skin and there is very little, to no stretch in the skin (they ruled our scleraderma, but that is similar to how it presents). I was only diagnosed with celiac this year. I am curious about the connection now.

EDIT: My Lyme titer 26 years ago was negative. They tried the treatment of high doses of penicillian with no affect. I do not recall GI symptoms, but then again, it wasn't D or C that took me to the doc now...it was my gallbladder. I have also been tested for Lupus and RA, which were both negative about 2+ years ago...both autoimmune.

[ravenwoodglass]

I wonder if Lyme is also the trigger for some people? And since symptoms are similar, they sort of run into each other.

I feel this is what is likely. Since celiac requires a triggering stress or illness Lyme disease could well be the trigger for some of us. Treating the Lyme will not 'cure' celiac though. Once the disease is triggered it is there for the rest of our lives.